As I was reading the newspaper ("Freethought Today") this afternoon, I came across an article that almost made my heart stop. "Ten Commandments Weekend Proposed by Senate Resolution." Ex...excuse me? Whatever happened to separation of church and state?!
Here's the text of the Resolution: "Ten Commandments are precepts foundational to the faith of millions of Americans...are a declaration of fundamental principles for a fair and just society...were from the founding of the United States..part of America's basic cultural fabric...[and are] a recognized symbol of law in our Nation's culture."
No, they're not! Adultery isn't illegal, neither is not working on either Saturday or Sunday, and no matter how you slice it, God isn't in the Constitution. Our Constitution was the first one EVER to establish freedom of religion.
There is not a word mentioned about the Ten Commandments or even a god in the Constitution (yes, I have read it). Actually, the only mention of religion in the Constitution (not the Bill of Rights or amendments) is in Article 6: "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
That's not even a full sentence; it follows a semicolon! This proposed "Ten Commandments Weekend" is either:
A) a plug to make the Religious Right-wingers happy
B)a show that our country is headed for theocracy. Yuck.
or
C) a shameless plug because the Pontiff is visiting. Also yuck.
I hate random resolutions to make people briefly happy.
Thankfully, only 1 Senator is currently sponsoring the Resolution, which was proposed by Senator Brownback: Jo Lieberman. Luckily for me, he is my state's Senator and I can send him a nice letter....
Please contact your Senators and tell them to remember our Constitution when voting on this resolution. I will certainly, as a CT resident, be writing to Mr. Lieberman to give him a piece of my mind.
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